Eubie! is a revue featuring the jazz and ragtime music of composer Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, Andy Razaf, Johnny Brandon, F. E. Miller, and Jim Europe. The revue features no book, simply showcasing 23 of Eubie Blake's popular songs. The show was conceived by Julianne Boyd and opened in 1978, receiving positive reviews from Time, Newsweek, Variety, Backstage, and The Today Show.[1][2][3]
| Eubie! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Music | Eubie Blake |
| Lyrics | Noble Sissle Andy Razaf Johnny Brandon F. E. Miller Jim Europe |
| Book | Revue |
| Productions | 1978 Broadway |
Production
editAfter seven previews, the Broadway production, opened on September 20, 1978, at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 439 performances. The show was conceived and directed by Julianne Boyd, choreographed by Billy Wilson and Henry LeTang, and costumed by Bernard Johnston. Vicki Carter was the musical director, pianist, and conductor. Lou Gonzalez was the sound designer.[3][2]
Eubie Blake himself was nearly 100 years of age when the show opened.[4]
The theater setting was designed to be reminiscent of the 1920s, with "curlicued settings, dancers diving down a staircase in a pie-shaped wedge, a girl in a mantilla with a Spanish rose in her teeth".[5] Many of the songs were from the Blake-Sissle 1921 show Shuffle Along, which follows the story of two friends who are both running for mayor. Among the songs were "Charleston Rag", "Daddy", "My Handyman Ain't Handy No More", "Gee, I Wish I Had Someone to Rock Me in the Cradle of Love", and "There's a Million Little Cupids in the Sky" (from the 1924 Blake-Sissle show The Chocolate Dandies).[6][7]
A few months after the show's opening on Broadway, the tour of Eubie! opened on February 7, 1979, in Baltimore.[1]
An original cast recording was produced by Warner Brothers and released on vinyl in 1979, and was later released on CD.[1] The production was filmed in 1981; it was Gregory Hines TV debut.
The New York Times noted that the show's pre-Broadway costs ran $236,000 over budget, and that despite the show's 65-week Broadway run, it “never paid backers a penny of their $350,000 investment.”[8]
Songs
edit|
Act I 1. "Good Night, Angeline" (1917), Europe and Sissle; Shuffle Along 2. "Charleston Rag" (1899) 3. "Shuffle Along" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 4. "In Honeysuckle Time" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 5. "I'm Just Wild About Harry" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 6. "Baltimore Buzz" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 7. "Daddy" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 8. "There's a Million Little Cupids in the Sky" (1924), Sissle; The Chocolate Dandies 9. "I'm a Great Big Baby" (1940), Razaf; Tan Manhattan 10. "My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More" (1930), Razaf; Blackbirds of 1930 11. "Low Down Blues" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 12. "Gee, I Wish I Had Someone to Rock Me in the Cradle of Love" (1919), Sissle 13. "I'm Just Simply Full of Jazz" (1919), Sissle; Shuffle Along |
Act II 14. "High Steppin' Days" (1921) 15. "Dixie Moon" (1924), Sissle; The Chocolate Dandies 16. "Weary" (1940), Razaf; Tan Manhattan 17. "Roll, Jordan" (1930), Razaf 18. "Memories of You" (1930), Razaf; Blackbirds of 1930 19. "If You've Never Been Vamped by a Brownskin, You've Never Been Vamped at All" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 20. "You Got to Git the Gittin While the Gittin's Good" (1956), Miller 21. "Oriental Blues" (1921), Sissle; Shuffle Along 22. "I'm Craving for That Kind of Love" (1921) Sissle; Shuffle Along 23. "Hot Feet" (1958), Sissle 24. "Good Night, Angeline" (1917), Europe and Sissle; Shuffle Along[9] |
Cast
editThe original cast of Eubie! included an all-black cast consisting of 12 performers and nine musicians. The performers were Ethel Beatty, Terry Burrell, Leslie Dockery, Lynnie Godfrey, Gregory Hines, Maurice Hines, Mel Johnson Jr., Lonnie McNeil, Janet Powell, Marion Ramsey, Alaina Reed, Jeffery V. Thompson.[2] Of these performers Gregory Hines and Lynnie Godfrey were nominated for awards for their performances in Eubie!
Awards and nominations
editOriginal Broadway production
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Tony Award | Best Original Score | Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, Andy Razafe, F.E. Miller, Johnny Brandon and Jim Europe | Nominated |
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Gregory Hines | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Billy Wilson and Henry LeTang | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Lynnie Godfrey | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Choreography | Billy Wilson and Henry LeTang | Nominated | ||
| Theatre World Award | Gregory Hines | Won | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c Al Rose, Eubie Blake (New York: Schirmer Books, 1979), 166–167.
- ^ a b c Hobe, "Legitimate: Shows on Broadway – Eubie", Variety 292/8 (1978), 96.
- ^ a b Sherry Eaker, "Eubie!" Backstage 39/20 (1979), 50.
- ^ Gerald Bordman. American Musical Review (New York: University Oxford Press, 1985), 159–160.
- ^ Kerr, Walter. "Arts, mini-review", The New York Times, November 6, 1978, p. 54.
- ^ Kroll, Jack. "Wild About Eubie", Newsweek, October 2, 1978.
- ^ League, The Broadway. "The Chocolate Dandies – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ Salmans, Sandra. “Why Investors in Broadway Hits are Often Losers.” New York Times, 22 November 1981, D1.
- ^ Al Rose, Eubie Blake (New York: Schirmer Books, 1979), 168-173.
External links
edit- Eubie! at the Internet Broadway Database
- Eubie! at the Music Theatre International website